The discosure relates in particular to dish carriers in the form of belts in commercial flight-type dishwashers, as are used in restaurants, pubs, canteens and similar facilities. Flight-type dishwashers or flight-type warewashers are so called because they wash not only dishes but also other articles which are used in kitchens and for consuming food and  drinks, for example trays for carrying dishes. In this case, the dish carrier is a belt, usually in the form of a multisection chain-like belt which has supporting fingers between which the dishes or trays can be placed on their edges in order to be transported through the flight-type dishwasher.
However, the discosure also relates to dish carriers in the form of a rack in which dishes can be put on their edges and which is designed for use in rack-conveyor dishwashers or for use in batch dishwashers. A transporting apparatus, for example a belt or rollers, is provided in rack-conveyor dishwashers, and the dish carrier can be put on this transporting apparatus in order to be transported through the rack-conveyor dishwasher. This type of rack-conveyor dishwasher or rack-conveyor warewasher is used commercially in restaurants, pubs, canteens and similar facilities.
The discosure also relates to batch dishwashers which are used commercially, for example in restaurants, pubs, canteens and similar facilities. They are also called batch warewashers. This type of dishwasher may be an under-counter dishwasher (under-counter warewasher) or a top-counter dishwasher (top-counter warewasher) or a hood-type dishwasher (hood-type warewasher).
Furthermore, the discosure also relates to dish carriers for domestic dishwashers.
In the known dish carriers of the above-described types, the supporting surfaces which hold the dishes in the dish carrier in an obliquely upright position are uniformly distributed. In the dish carrier, dishes of large height (depth) and small diameter or small width, for example soup plates, are overreached and largely covered by other dishes or trays of low height (depth) but greater length or larger width and are thus screened from upper nozzles which spray cleaning water or washwater downwards onto the tray and onto the dish from above. As a result, the jets of water cannot directly strike the covered dishes so that these covered dishes are only inadequately cleaned or very large amounts of water and long washing times are required. A situation such as this is illustrated in FIG. 1 of the attached drawings. The more oblique position of flat trays by comparison with plates also causes the plates to undesirably screen these trays from jets of water which are sprayed from lower nozzles upwards onto the plates and trays from below.
FIG. 1 shows a section of a known dish carrier 2 in the form of an endless conveyor belt of a flight-type dishwasher. The dish carrier has a multiplicity of compartments 22 which are open at the top, are arranged one behind the other in the direction of movement of the belt and extend transversely thereto. The compartments 22 are formed by a multiplicity of supporting elements 4 which are arranged one behind the other in a number of longitudinal rows in the direction of movement of the belt and in a multiplicity of transverse rows at a distance next to one another in the manner of a chain link, and are connected to one another. The dishes stand obliquely on their edges in the compartments 22 on a base surface 6 and are supported in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt at lower supporting surfaces 8 and at upper supporting surfaces 10 of the supporting elements 4, these upper supporting surfaces being arranged higher than said lower supporting surfaces. The upper supporting surfaces 10 point in one longitudinal direction and the lower supporting surfaces 8 point in the opposite longitudinal direction. FIG. 1 shows a plate 12 and a tray 14 on the dish carrier 2. The tray 14 overreaches and covers the plate 12, because the height 16 of the tray is smaller than the height 18 of the plate and because the width of the tray 14 is greater than the diameter or the width of the plate 12. As a result, the tray 14 overreaches and conceals the plate 12.
It's desirable that all of the articles to be washed (items to be washed) can be cleaned well and with as little washwater or detergent as possible in a short time, even if the articles to be washed have different heights and different external circumferential dimensions.